Outer darkness is a
very misunderstood concept in the Bible. Many
have equated “outer darkness” with hell,
purgatory, and even some place of punishment for
a thousand years. Outer darkness is not hell,
purgatory nor a place of punishment for a
certain period of time, although there will be
“weeping and gnashing of teeth” for those who
are relegated to this position. Outer darkness
is not a place, but a position outside of the
kingdom. Being cast into
outer darkness is the exact opposite of entering
the kingdom. Since the kingdom is not a place,
outer darkness is also not a place. The word
“kingdom” literally means king’s dominion, and
it refers to an important position of authority.
Therefore, “enter the kingdom” means to enter
into the king’s dominion, or to enter into an
important position of authority in the king’s
government. Therefore, to be cast into outer
darkness means to fail to enter into the
kingdom. In a modern day worldly situation, it
would be equivalent to an individual seeking a
commission in the United States Army, but
failing to qualify and being relegated to the
ranks of the enlisted. Another
analogous situation today would be to enter into
Government Service. When I was 23 years
old, I took a battery of tests administered by
the Federal Government. My university degree,
grade-point average and results on the tests
qualified me for a position in the United States
Federal Government. I did not enter into a
place, but into a position of service. I carried
an ID card that identified me as a Federal
Employee. We were required to live up to certain
standards of conduct and we had responsibilities
of service. We took an oath of office and we
were told that we were Government employees 24
hours a day and not just during the time we were
at work. I worked in many different places
across the USA, but wherever I worked, I was
still in the Government Service. I am belaboring
the point here to emphasize that the kingdom of
heaven is analogous to Government Service, and
IT IS NOT A PLACE, BUT A POSITION OF
RESPONSIBILITY AND AUTHORITY. All Christians
will enter into heaven with new bodies at either
the Firstfruits Rapture or the Main Harvest
Rapture, but ALL CHRISTIANS WILL NOT ENTER INTO
THE KINGDOM OF HEAVEN. Many will be disqualified
and become “castaways”. Even Paul feared this in
accordance with the following scripture passage:
(1 Cor 9:26 KJV) I therefore so
run, not as uncertainly; so fight I, not as
one that beateth the air:(1 Cor 9:27
KJV) But I keep under my body, and
bring it into subjection: lest that by any
means, when I have preached to others, I
myself should be a castaway.Since the
kingdom of heaven is not a place, and since
outer darkness is the opposite of the kingdom of
heaven, it should be clear that OUTER DARKNESS
IS NOT A PLACE EITHER. To be cast into outer
darkness is to fail to enter into the kingdom of
heaven. The majority of
Christians today assume that they will reign and
rule with Christ in His coming kingdom
regardless of how they have lived their lives.
They equate entering the kingdom with going to
heaven, and being cast into outer darkness as
being cast into hell. Numerous Christians are
going to be cast into outer darkness, and there
will be tremendous sorrow and distress when this
event takes place. It is analogous to a person
going to the White House with the idea of being
the Director of the FBI, but finding out when he
arrives that he will be mowing the grass on the
lawn. There is going to be weeping and gnashing
of teeth by many Christians when they arrive in
heaven and discover that they are going to be
sweeping up gold dust in the streets. (NOTE:
This is a tongue-in-cheek expression that Dr. M.
R. DeHaan once used as an attempt to distinguish
between those who do not enter the kingdom from
those who enter the kingdom.) The phrase
“outer darkness” is an idiom, and it is used three
times in Scripture. The following is the
definition of an idiom: id·i·om
n. 1. A speech form or an expression of a given
language that is peculiar to itself
grammatically or cannot be understood from the
individual meanings of its elements, as in keep
tabs on. Since we cannot
understand the phrase or idiom from the
individual meanings of its elements, we must go
to the context in which it is used to understand
the meaning. “Outer darkness is first used in
the following passage of Scripture: Outer Darkness for
Jews (Mat 8:5 KJV) And when Jesus was
entered into Capernaum, there came unto him a
centurion, beseeching him,(Mat 8:6 KJV) And saying, Lord,
my servant lieth at home sick of the palsy,
grievously tormented.(Mat 8:7 KJV) And Jesus saith
unto him, I will come and heal him.(Mat 8:8 KJV) The centurion
answered and said, Lord, I am not worthy that
thou shouldest come under my roof: but speak
the word only, and my servant shall be healed.(Mat 8:9 KJV) For I am a man
under authority, having soldiers under me: and
I say to this man, Go, and he goeth; and to
another, Come, and he cometh; and to my
servant, Do this, and he doeth it.(Mat 8:10 KJV) When Jesus heard
it, he marvelled, and said to them that
followed, Verily I say unto you, I have not
found so great faith, no, not in Israel.(Mat 8:11 KJV) And I say unto
you, That many shall come from the east and
west, and shall sit down with Abraham, and
Isaac, and Jacob, in the kingdom of heaven.(Mat 8:12 KJV) But the children
of the kingdom shall be cast out into outer
darkness: there shall be weeping and
gnashing of teeth.(Mat 8:13 KJV) And Jesus said
unto the centurion, Go thy way; and as thou
hast believed, so be it done unto thee. And
his servant was healed in the selfsame hour. Verses 11 and
12 provide us with the idiomatic definition of
“outer darkness”. It is a failure of the
“children of the kingdom” to enter into the
kingdom of heaven. The “many” that “come from
the east and west” are those in the Church who
qualify for positions in the kingdom of heaven.
The “children of the kingdom” who are “cast into
outer darkness” are the Jews who rejected Jesus
and failed to enter into the kingdom of heaven
with Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob and the many from
the east and the west. This failure of the
nation of Israel to enter the kingdom of heaven
is addressed in the following Scripture: (Mat 21:42 KJV) Jesus saith unto
them, Did ye never read in the scriptures, The
stone which the builders rejected, the same is
become the head of the corner: this is the
Lord's doing, and it is marvellous in our
eyes?(Mat 21:43 KJV) Therefore say I
unto you, The kingdom of God shall be taken
from you, and given to a nation bringing forth
the fruits thereof. The “stone”
that was rejected was Jesus and the builders
were the Jews. They rejected Jesus, so the
kingdom was taken away from them and given to
another group of people. The “nation bringing
forth the fruits thereof” is the Church. Just as
there were some Jews in the nation of Israel who
did not lose their inheritance of reigning and
ruling with Jesus, there will be Christians in
the Church who will lose their inheritance, even
though the kingdom was given to the Church.
Please note in verse 43 that the “kingdom of
God” was “taken from” them and given to someone
else. It was not a place that was taken away
from the Jews, but the authority to reign and
rule from the heavens. Outer Darkness for
Saved GentilesThe following
passage of Scripture addresses “outer darkness”
for saved Gentiles who are in the last half of
the tribulation period. Even though saved and
they are present at the beginning of the
millennial kingdom, the lack of a garment of
good works will disqualify them from entering
into the earthly aspect of the kingdom. (Mat 22:1 KJV) And Jesus answered
and spake unto them again by parables, and
said,(Mat 22:2 KJV) The kingdom of
heaven is like unto a certain king, which made
a marriage for his son,(Mat 22:3 KJV) And sent forth his
servants to call them that were bidden to the
wedding: and they would not come. The marriage in
verse 2 is the Firstfruits Rapture of the
faithful Church, and his servants doing the
calling are those who provide Meat In Due
Season, or the five wise virgins. Those bidden
to the wedding are the entire Church, but they
rejected the offer to come to the wedding. They
are the five foolish virgins who prepared not
themselves and would not seek the kingdom of
God. (Mat 22:4
KJV) Again, he sent forth other
servants, saying, Tell them which are
bidden, Behold, I have prepared my dinner:
my oxen and my fatlings are killed, and all
things are ready: come unto the marriage. These “other
servants” are those who become faithful during
the first half of the tribulation period and
they tell the main body of the Church about the
wedding feast that is going to take place. Note:
The wedding and the wedding feast are separate
events. (Mat 22:5 KJV) But they made
light of it, and went their ways, one to his
farm, another to his merchandise: Again, there
are Church members who do not take the wedding
feast seriously, and they remain caught up in
the cares of the world. (Mat 22:6
KJV) And the remnant took his
servants, and entreated them spitefully, and
slew them. The remnant is
the remaining ones from the previous two groups
of faithful Church and unfaithful Church.
Consequently, the remnant is the rest on the
earth who are not Church. The remnant took the
faithful servants and abused them and even slew
them. (Mat 22:7 KJV) But when the king
heard thereof, he was wroth: and he sent forth
his armies, and destroyed those murderers, and
burned up their city. This verse is
the wrath of God in the last half of the
tribulation period. He destroys those who abused
and killed His servants and he destroys the
cities of the earth. (Mat 22:8 KJV) Then saith he to
his servants, The wedding is ready, but they
which were bidden were not worthy. The King then
sends his servants—the 144,000 Jewish
Firstfruits—to the saved Gentiles to bid them to
the wedding feast, which will take place on the
earth during the millennial kingdom. This is the
earthly aspect of the kingdom, and numerous
Gentiles will be called into the earthly aspect
of the kingdom during the last half of the
tribulation period. (Mat 22:9 KJV) Go ye therefore
into the highways, and as many as ye shall
find, bid to the marriage.(Mat 22:10 KJV) So those servants
went out into the highways, and gathered
together all as many as they found, both bad
and good: and the wedding was furnished with
guests. The above two
verses describe the preaching of the gospel of
the kingdom during the last half of the
tribulation period. The gospel of the kingdom is
always to the saved, and in this case it would
be to saved Gentiles. All are saved, but not all
have on the wedding garment of good works. This
is seen in the following verses where the one
without the wedding garment will be cast into
outer darkness, or into a position outside of
the earthly aspect of the kingdom. (Mat 22:11 KJV) And when the king
came in to see the guests, he saw there a man
which had not on a wedding garment:(Mat 22:12 KJV) And he saith unto
him, Friend, how camest thou in hither not
having a wedding garment? And he was
speechless.(Mat 22:13 KJV) Then said the
king to the servants, Bind him hand and foot,
and take him away, and cast him into outer
darkness; there shall be weeping and
gnashing of teeth.(Mat 22:14
KJV) For many are called, but few are
chosen.The parable is
ended with the statement that many Gentiles will
be saved during the tribulation period, but only
a few are chosen to reign and rule in the
earthly aspect of the kingdom. Outer Darkness for
Church MembersWe have seen
that the first use of outer darkness was to Jews
who failed to enter the heavenly aspect of the
kingdom. The second use of outer darkness was to
Gentiles saved in the tribulation period who
fail to enter into the earthly aspect of the
kingdom. We will now look at the third use of
outer darkness, which pertains to members of the
Church who fail to enter into the heavenly
aspect of the kingdom—even after going through
the first half of the tribulation period. (Mat 25:14 KJV) For the kingdom
of heaven is as a man travelling into a far
country, who called his own servants, and
delivered unto them his goods.(Mat 25:15 KJV) And unto one he
gave five talents, to another two, and to
another one; to every man according to his
several ability; and straightway took his
journey.(Mat 25:16 KJV) Then he that had
received the five talents went and traded with
the same, and made them other five talents.(Mat 25:17 KJV) And likewise he
that had received two, he also gained other
two.(Mat 25:18 KJV) But he that had
received one went and digged in the earth, and
hid his lord's money.(Mat 25:19 KJV) After a long time
the lord of those servants cometh, and
reckoneth with them.(Mat 25:20 KJV) And so he that
had received five talents came and brought
other five talents, saying, Lord, thou
deliveredst unto me five talents: behold, I
have gained beside them five talents more.(Mat 25:21 KJV) His lord said
unto him, Well done, thou good and faithful
servant: thou hast been faithful over a few
things, I will make thee ruler over many
things: enter thou into the joy of thy lord.(Mat 25:22 KJV) He also that had
received two talents came and said, Lord, thou
deliveredst unto me two talents: behold, I
have gained two other talents beside them.(Mat 25:23 KJV) His lord said
unto him, Well done, good and faithful
servant; thou hast been faithful over a few
things, I will make thee ruler over many
things: enter thou into the joy of thy lord.(Mat 25:24 KJV) Then he which had
received the one talent came and said, Lord, I
knew thee that thou art an hard man, reaping
where thou hast not sown, and gathering where
thou hast not strowed:(Mat 25:25 KJV) And I was afraid,
and went and hid thy talent in the earth: lo,
there thou hast that is thine.(Mat 25:26 KJV) His lord answered
and said unto him, Thou wicked and slothful
servant, thou knewest that I reap where I
sowed not, and gather where I have not
strowed:(Mat 25:27 KJV) Thou oughtest
therefore to have put my money to the
exchangers, and then at my coming I should
have received mine own with usury.(Mat 25:28 KJV) Take therefore
the talent from him, and give it unto him
which hath ten talents.(Mat 25:29 KJV) For unto every
one that hath shall be given, and he shall
have abundance: but from him that hath not
shall be taken away even that which he hath.(Mat 25:30 KJV) And cast ye the
unprofitable servant into outer darkness:
there shall be weeping and gnashing of teeth.
NOTE: Please
read my exegetical discourse on The Olivet
Discourse for a verse-by-verse exegesis of
the above passage of Scripture. Briefly, the
above passage pertains to those in the Church
who are left behind in the Firstfruits Rapture
to go through 42 months of tribulation. All
three servants are Christians who are separated
(i.e., cut asunder) at the Firstfruits Rapture.
Two out of three servants in this parable of the
talents become faithful and receive their
reward, but the third one does not become
faithful, and he loses his reward. Christians
who do not become faithful in this life lose
their positions and do not enter into the
kingdom of heaven. They are cast into outer
darkness. Outer darkness does last for the
thousand years, but it is not a place separate
and apart from heaven, for the simple reason
that it is not a place. Outer darkness
is not punishment for sin, but it is the loss of
reward. It does result in shame for the
individual and strong rebuke from the Lord Jesus
Christ. It does result in weeping and gnashing
of teeth by Christians who lose their
inheritance, but it is not banishment from
heaven for the thousand years. It is the failure
to reign and rule with Jesus Christ for the
millennium. All Christians
will dwell in heaven for the millennium and
forever. Their dwelling place in heaven will be
the New Jerusalem, which is the heavenly city of
God, prepared by Jesus Christ for his Church.
There will definitely be levels of intimacy with
Jesus Christ, and levels of authority in the New
Jerusalem, but the whole Church will be there
forever. It is true that
all Christians must stand before the Judgment
Seat of Christ to be judged for their works.
Many will lose their reward and be severely
chastised for their lives, but all will be
cleansed and purified and will dwell in the New
Jerusalem. The following passage of Scripture in
the book of Revelation addresses the Main
Harvest Rapture of the Church, which will
include faithful and unfaithful Christians.
Please note that there is no mention of reigning
and ruling with the Lord Jesus Christ, but the
whole Church is before the throne of God
praising and worshipping God. (Rev 7:9 KJV) After this I
beheld, and, lo, a great multitude, which no
man could number, of all nations, and
kindreds, and people, and tongues, stood
before the throne, and before the Lamb,
clothed with white robes, and palms in their
hands;(Rev 7:10 KJV) And cried with a
loud voice, saying, Salvation to our God which
sitteth upon the throne, and unto the Lamb.(Rev 7:11 KJV) And all the angels
stood round about the throne, and about the
elders and the four beasts, and fell before
the throne on their faces, and worshipped God,(Rev 7:12 KJV) Saying, Amen:
Blessing, and glory, and wisdom, and
thanksgiving, and honour, and power, and
might, be unto our God for ever and ever.
Amen.(Rev 7:13 KJV) And one of the
elders answered, saying unto me, What are
these which are arrayed in white robes? and
whence came they?(Rev 7:14 KJV) And I said unto
him, Sir, thou knowest. And he said to me,
These are they which came out of great
tribulation, and have washed their robes, and
made them white in the blood of the Lamb.(Rev 7:15 KJV) Therefore are they
before the throne of God, and serve him day
and night in his temple: and he that sitteth
on the throne shall dwell among them.(Rev 7:16 KJV) They shall hunger
no more, neither thirst any more; neither
shall the sun light on them, nor any heat.(Rev 7:17 KJV) For the Lamb which
is in the midst of the throne shall feed them,
and shall lead them unto living fountains of
waters: and God shall wipe away all tears from
their eyes.It is very
important to see that this additional group of
Christians in heaven around the throne came out
of great tribulation, have washed their robes
and made them white in the blood of the lamb. At
the Main Harvest Rapture of the Church, all
Christians will be totally cleansed and purified
by the Lamb of God—even though the unfaithful
will forfeit their inheritance in the kingdom of
God. Please note the very important distinction
between those who have just arrived in heaven
with white robes out of great tribulation and
the “four beasts” (i.e., four living creatures)
and the elders. The four living creatures and
the twenty-four elders have been in heaven since
the very beginning of the seven-year tribulation
period. This is not true for the majority who
have just arrived in heaven with white
robes—there is no mention of thrones or crowns
for these newly arrived Christians.One additional
analogy that distinguishes the difference
between entering the kingdom and being cast into
outer darkness is the Olympic Games. Athletes
from all nations compete in numerous athletic
events to win medals that bring honor and glory.
At the end of the competition the winners are
announced, and the winners take their rightful
positions on pedestals with the gold medal
winner being on the highest pedestal, the silver
medal winner on the second highest pedestal and
the bronze medal winner being on the lowest
pedestal. All three are in the limelight of
attention and receive glory and honor. THE
WINNERS ARE IN THE LIMELIGHT. THE LOSERS ARE IN
THE “OUTER DARKNESS” JUST OUTSIDE OF THE
LIMELIGHT. The losers are in the same place as
the winners, but the winners are in the
spotlight. The losers are in a POSITION just
outside of the limelight in outer darkness. The
definition of outer darkness is the darkness
just outside of the light. Wherever the Olympic
winners go they receive honor, glory and
recognition for their achievements, and they go
down in history as Olympic winners. This means
they are immortalized. The losers do not receive
honor and glory, and they are relegated or cast
into obscurity. The winners remain in the light
wherever they go, but the losers remain in the
darkness just outside of the light. The Christian
who enters into the kingdom of heaven will enter
into a position of responsibility, honor, glory
and immortality. The Christian who fails to
enter the kingdom of heaven is cast into outer
darkness. He fails to enter into a position of
honor, glory and immortality. This Christian’s
home will still be the New Jerusalem, and he
will still be cleansed, purified and conformed
to the image of Jesus Christ. He will still
receive a glorified body, and the following
passage of Scripture describes the lot of this
Christian: (Rev 7:15 KJV) Therefore are they
before the throne of God, and serve him day
and night in his temple: and he that sitteth
on the throne shall dwell among them.(Rev 7:16 KJV) They shall hunger
no more, neither thirst any more; neither
shall the sun light on them, nor any heat.(Rev 7:17 KJV) For the Lamb which
is in the midst of the throne shall feed them,
and shall lead them unto living fountains of
waters: and God shall wipe away all tears from
their eyes.